1891 Annual Report of the
National Executive Committee of the
Socialist Labor Party of America,
December 18, 1891
Published in The People [New York], vol. 1, no. 43 (Jan. 24, 1892), pg. 3.
To the M embers of the Socialist L abor Party:
Comrades:—
We hereby submit to you our second annual
report, a duty that we fulfill with all the greater
pleasure seei ng the report shows our party to have
made marked progress during the last year, and
that it now has reached a place that it never occu-
pied before. It isespecially gratifying to point out
that we have made large acquisitions among the
English-speaking el ement.Thecircumstance that
our ideas are breaking through theranksof Ameri-
can workingmen is an earnest of greater progress
in the future.
Party Fair.
The Party Fair instituted by Section New
York during the Christmas days of 1890 was a
great success, thanks to the cooperation of the
comrades in the county and of the labor organi-
zations in sympathy with us. The net proceeds
amounted to $1,365. This enabled the N EC to
pay Oehler, the printer of the party's papers,
$1,170 of the$l,700 that was owing to him, and
in that way to lighten a burden that had weighed
heavily upon us.
Alabama Coal M inersf Strike.
proved by the Party, early in 1890, to show its
solidarity with the economic organizations of the
workingmen, the coal miners of Alabama, whose
delegates had stood by the Socialists at the Con-
vention of theAF of L in 1890. Left in the lurch
bythegreatAF of L,theminers turned in distress
to our party. 0 ur call for help was not left unan-
swered. Within a short time we were able to for-
ward to them the sum of $500.
D eL eo n's Agitati o n To u r.
The plan of the NEC to institute agitation
tours by C omrades August Bebel of G ermany and
John Burnsof England, as mentioned in last year's
report, fell through; in its stead theN EC arranged
theagitationtourofComradeDeLeon.Thistour
stretched through the length of the country; it
consumed nearly three months and had an excel-
lent effect. Its cost amounted to $711.75. Of this
amount, $444.75 was contributed by the Sections,
the remaining $367 was supplied by the NEC. At
thecommencementofthetour, theN EC wasen-
abled to yield to the request of the C hicago com-
rades, and placed Comrades DeL eon and Jonas
for a week in that city to aid in the Spring cam-
paign.
May Day Agitation.
Theopportunity was offered to, and wasim-
D uring theM ay D ay celebrations, C omrades
NEC of the SLP: 1891 Annual Report to the M embership [Dec. 18, 1891]
Pattberg, Forker, and Jonas were sent to H artford,
Philadelphia, Troy, New Bedford, New Britain,
Paterson, and N ewark. Several other smaller agi-
tation tours were arranged, for instance, that of
D eLeon to Binghamton, Pattberg to Wilmington,
and Jonas to New Haven.
Agitation in the Coke Region.
Of greater importance than these was the
tour of Jonas and Delabar in the coke regions of
Pennsylvania. The striking coke miners, feeling
themselves, namely, forsaken by the large national
organizations of labor, of which they were mem-
bers, applied to us for speakers, through our com-
rades in Scottdale, in order to inspire the minors
with fresh vigor so that they may be induced to
hold out at least until M ay 1, when the general
move for the 8-hour day was expected to bemade
To these striking workmen in distress the
NEC sent both financial aid and two speakers to
agitate among them, although the conditions of
the coke region at that ti me made the work of the
agitators a dangerous one. N everthel ess, Jonas and
D elabar were commissioned to address the strik-
ers, and their Socialist speeches stirred their hear-
ers. H ereby the coke regions of West Pennsylva-
nia werebrought into contract with our Party. Fur-
thermore, the latter end of DeL eon's agitational
tour fell through that same district and was effec-
tive in the highest degree.
ThePittsburcfier Volksz&tung.
To preserve what had been gained and make
still greater progress, a basis for action in that
neighborhood became necessary. T hefittest place
was Pittsburgh. The situation in Pittsburgh and
Alleghany City was, however, not an encourag-
ing one. Owing to the suspension of the
Pittsburgher Arbeiter Zeitung and the accompa-
nying sacrifices of money and time, great despon-
dency prevailed among our comrades. T he move-
ment threatened to col lapse there, and it its then
condition could not serve as a starting point.
The first thing to be done was to restore
confidenceto thecomrades themselves. T his, how-
ever, could not be done without a paper and with-
out placing in those cities an agitator who could
undertake the work with vigor and zeal. Owing
to their previous failure, the comrades in Pitts-
burgh could not be induced to undertake another
paper. In view of all this, there was nothing left
but for the N EC to undertake the work them-
selves. W ith the assistance of the/V ei/i/ YorkerVolks-
za'ti/ngand the self-sacrificing disposition of Com.
K. Ibsen, our work became possible, and the
Pittsburgher Volkseitung was established as the
property of the Party.
In Comrade Ibsen we found the party
needed for the post — the able editor and ener-
getic agitator. Thefunds with which thisgreat task
was undertaken barely amounted to $300; this
sum the Party sacrificed to the cause. Today the
venture may be considered a success. T he paper is
firmly established. New life has been infused into
our Sections Pittsburgh and Allegheny City; the
movement there again moves; the Pittsburgher
Volkszeitung penetrates every day deeper into the
coke regions. T he assistance of C omrade M ast in
that region has been a valuable acquisition to the
N EC;through himthespreadingofthepaperand
of literature is conducted with vigor and system-
atically.
Growth of the Party.
As a result of the setting in motion of all
these forces of agitation and activity in the Party,
wecan record the establishment of 23 new Ameri-
can, 19 new German, 6 new Jewish [Yiddish], 1
new Scandinavian, and 1 new H ungarian Section.
There were 2 American and 5 German Sections
dissolved. That the number of new American Sec-
tions should exceed that of the G erman ones is a
most encouraging sign and onethat must urge us
to renewed efforts.
NEC of the SLP: 1891 Annual Report to the Membership [Dec. 18, 1891]
The People.
T hrough the publication of T he People by
the New York Volkszeitung Publishing Associa-
tion, a great burden was taken from theshoulders
of the Party. Our English organ, TheWorkmen's
A dvocate, went up i n T he People by a popular vote
of the Party. The arrangement made with the
Board of D i rectors of the Volkszeitung is such that
the Party reserves full control overall thecolumns
on the page headed "Workmen's Advocate" [page
3], and that the Editor in Chief can only be cho-
sen with the consent of the Party (National Ex-
ecutive Committee). Our financial status was
greatly eased by the removal of the deficit of The
Workmen's Advocate, brought about by this ar-
rangement. 0 n the other hand, the Volkszeitung
is now making great sacrifices for The People. To-
wards rendering these sacrifices lighter we have
been able to contribute only $150. This is a rea-
son the more why the comrades should do all in
their power to increase the circulation of the pa-
per.
The Sozialist.
Seeing that the N EC had to cover the deficits
in the party organs, it was found that this came
somewhat in conflict with Art. 4 Sec. 5 of the
Constitution, which placed the management of
the papers i n the hands of the N ew York Section.
That Section, accordingly asked the N EC to as-
sume the management; and this was done with
the consent of the Party. 0 ur organs have de-
manded heavy sacrifices from us during the year,
the sums devoted to them amount to $1,400, in-
cl ud i ng three months for 7 he Workmen'sA dvocate.
The deficit on the paper increased so that we were
forced to appeal to the Party with the alternative
either to suspend the paper or to increase its sub-
scriptionsand advertisers to enableitto continue.
The Party decided in favor of continuance, yet,
not withstanding all the efforts of the manager,
no marked improvement has been noticeable. But
for the $80 received from the Labor Lyceum we
could not have continued the paper.
Labor News Company.
U nder the weight of these burdens, the La-
bor New Company has suffered greatly. The
troubles within the Party, and now fortunately
over, the lack of funds, and the further circum-
stance that we had d uri ng the fi rst years to devote
all ourenergiestothebuildingupoftheParty, all
these contributed to bring the Labor N ewsC om-
pany to the very verge of dissolution. From all
possible sources, here as well as abroad, the "Ro-
senberg Executive" had raised loans, and in that
way not only heaped up debts, but impaired our
credit. H ence most of the orders could not be
filled, or were filled with small profit. Only by
slow degrees were we in a condition to pay off
these debts, in that way enabling our Manager to
establish new connections and to place the Labor
N ews C ompany on a profitable basis.
M uch is yet to be done and should be done
in this direction were not our hands too much
tied up. W ith but a few hundred dollars, the La-
bor News Company could be placed upon a foot-
ing where it could render invaluable services in
the publication and distribution of pamphlets,
leaflets, and other works that could promote the
agitation. All that our comrades could do should,
therefore, bedoneto second the efforts of the N EC
in this direction.
Brussels Congress
I n the matter of the delegation of C omrade
[Lucien] Sanial to the Brussels Congress there is
nothing to add except that he carried out the in-
structions of the N EC. The comrade's work at
Brussels is known to you all. W ith regard to some
matters, touching the labor movement in America,
NEC of the SLP: 1891 Annual Report to the M embership [Dec. 18, 1891]
the N EC will take the proper steps to introduce
them to the labor organizations. To defray the ex-
penses of the delegate ($275), an extra per capita
tax had to be imposed. Some Sections are still in
arrears on this tax.
National Convention.
The Party decided against the holding of a
Convention this year— 1891. In view of the fact
that in the course of the year, State 0 rganizations,
looking to political action, were formed by our
comrades in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jer-
sey, Connecticut, and M assachusetts, and of the
further fact that we are approaching a Presiden-
tial election, the Party shall have to decide again,
whether or not it shall hold a National Conven-
tion in 1892.
H armony.
I n the matter of "Union," brought up by Sec-
tion Jersey City Heights, which standsoutsidethe
Party, and by some of our own Sections, nothing
morecould bedonebytheN EC because the large
majority of our own Sections either voted against
or wholly ignored the proposals made by the N EC.
This only proved that the Party is of the opinion
that there is noting to unite inasmuch as admis-
sion into the party is free to the couple of Sec-
tions that still adhere to Cincinnati [Rosenberg's
group], there being no fundamental difference
dividing us. In such places were there still exist
Sections of both sides, and where our Party has
gone into thecampaign, all worked harmoniously
together.
National Secretary.
A I most at the cl ose of the year it became nec-
essary to choose a new N ational Secretary by rea-
son of the resignation of Comrade [Benjamin]
G retsch. Wefeel sure that C omrade [H enry] K uhn
will display the thorough, able, and conscientious
qualities of his predecessor.
General Outlook.
I n many respects, the year that is about to
end has been an important one for our Party and
the spread of our ideas. M any an important step
has been taken, but many more remain to be
taken. At the end of our term we only have to
express the hope that our comrades will cooper-
ate harmoniously with the new N ational Execu-
tive Committee towards the fulfillment of our
mission: to continue the spreading of Socialism
over the land with renewed zeal and vigor.
Socialism is growing in America. Three
Cheers for Social Revolution!
Straden, Gr/esbecfc, Goldschmidt, Pattberg,
Schweppendick, Flechsig, Schwartz.
Brooklyn, Dec. 18, 1891.
Edited by Tim D avenport
Published by 1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR, 2010. * Non-commercial reproduction permitted.
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